For Whom The Bell Tolls
by Laelia Sarai
Summary: Trapped in Kanda's hidden past lies the key to the truth of the horrible experiments the Order conducted thirteen years ago. Only now will that hidden secret become known to all. Chapter 189 spoilers. Lavi/Kanda and Kanda/Alma main.
1. Chapter 1

"…_Happy Birthday, Yu!"_

That was a voice he knew well. It may have been nine years since he'd heard it last, but Kanda would never forget what that voice sounded like. He didn't open his eyes or consciously move, but he felt his body move anyway. The feeling of the suspension liquid was one he always tried to forget, but was never quite succeeded at. So, when Alma took hold of his hand and pulled him out of it, he was grateful. Even if he wasn't wearing any clothes.

Almost suddenly, his eyes opened against his will, and his hands moved to rub at his eyes. Kanda's vision was blurry, and when he realized he had absolutely no control over his body, it occurred to him that he wasn't the one moving. His consciousness had been placed inside the memory of his six year-old self. He had no body of his own in this realm; looking down, he saw the bean sprout and sneered to himself. Of course that damn brat would get his own body… and clothes.

"Y'must have just woken up, huh?" Alma asked, smiling. "Oh! Here, I brought these." Turning around, Alma picked up a thick towel before handing it to Yu. "That stuff is kinda slimy. I've got clothes for you once you're all dry."

Kanda simply sat back and watched the events unfold. These memories were his, too. He knew what was happening, after all. Vaguely, he wondered why he couldn't hear his young self thinking, but didn't think too much of it. The mechanics of this place were foreign to him, anyway.

Yu looked down at the towel, then back up at the other boy. "Yu…?" He asked, unsure of what that meant.

"Oh…!" Alma smiled brightly, ruffling Yu's wet hair slightly. "That's the name they gave you. Yu. It's… Japanese." Pausing, Alma thought about his words for a moment before smiling again, nodding. "Yeah. Japanese. You'll remember once you wake up a little more. You've been in there for awhile. Do you need me to help you dry off?"

Allen watched the scene before him unfold with a look of confusion on his face. What was going on? The young boy before him was unmistakably Kanda, only he was about six years old, naked, and covered in some sort of… liquid goo. It was disconcerting; he wished he could just ask what was happening, but he knew he couldn't be heard. Standing up, he looked down at the two children in front of him and couldn't help but be a little smug.

"It's nice to know Kanda wasn't /always/ taller than me." He said aloud, gloating a little even though he had already known that was the case.

"_Tch. Hey, bean sprout, keep your stupid comments to yourself."_

Yelping, Allen jumped forward, looking around frantically. He hadn't seen the older Kanda anywhere near him, but his voice had been so close… "Where _are _you?" Allen asked when he couldn't find the other Kanda.

"…_you can hear me?"_ Came the hesitant reply. It was so close that Allen jumped again in surprise, whipping around in a circle to try and see where the sound was coming from.

"Of course I can hear you. I'm not deaf. But I can't see you." Allen replied, chilled from how weird this whole thing was.

"_Idiot. Yes you can. I'm right in front of you."_

Blinking, Allen stared straight ahead of him, as if expecting to see the Kanda who was nineteen and not six appear in front of him.

"_I'm the kid! I don't have a body here."_ Kanda's voice snapped in his ear after a few seconds of staring at the air.

Taking a shocked step back, Allen looked down at the young child before him. Yu was pulling a shirt over his head that was several sizes too big, one hand holding onto the pants that were falling off his hips. Alma leaned forward and tied a length of thick rope around Yu's waist to keep his pants up.

"We'll get you some clothes that fit you better once we go upstairs; you're really skinny." Alma quipped, smiling as he held his hand out for his companion. Instead, all the other boy did was blush and look down at the floor, studying his feet in the black slippers that managed to fit him despite his ill-fitting clothes.

"You were shy as a kid, huh?" Allen mused. Sure, Kanda was antisocial, but he wasn't really shy… he was too brazen to be shy.

"_Shut up. I'm going to kill you once I get Mugen back."_

Allen merely chuckled, walking behind the two young boys as they moved to a different room. Almost suddenly, though, the entire room got brighter, blinding Allen for a moment. Instead of being in a dark laboratory-like room, he was in a meadow. Spotting a patch of black amongst the pastels of the flower laden grass, Allen approached the boys.

"That one looks a bit like a rabbit, doesn't it?" Alma asked, before rolling onto his side to study the face of the other boy. "Hey, Yu. How do you say rabbit in Japanese?"

Yu was quiet for a moment, contemplating the cloud overhead. "…usagi." He murmured softly, turning his head to look at Alma now. Suddenly, the meadow was filled with the child's laughter; as he turned his head, Alma pulled a face, one finger at the corner of his lips, distorting his mouth comically. Yuu responded with a silly face of his own, pressing down on the tip of his nose and sticking out his tongue, which caused another round of uproarious laughter from the both of them.

Watching the two children, Allen couldn't help but laugh. "Nice face, Kanda." He expected the disembodied voice of his companion to snap at him to keep his mouth shut, but all he heard was a sigh. Maybe this wasn't something that should be intruded upon… not that it was really Allen's fault that he was here.

"Yu. Alma. What have I told you about lazing around out here?"

Allen, Yu and Alma all turned at the same time to find a woman marching toward them. She couldn't have been more than forty, although her features were sharp which gave the impression that she was older than she really was. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen watched the two boys scramble to stand up.

"Well?" The woman asked, her hands on her hips as she studied the children.

Dragging his toe along the grass, Alma managed to look up at the woman cautiously. "But… Supervisor, we don't want to fight." He whimpered, already knowing that wasn't what the woman wanted to hear.

Blinking, Allen stared at the woman. Something about the set of her face reminded him of Levrrier; he already didn't like her. "Supervisor?" He hadn't expected Komui's predecessor to be a woman… not with the attitude the church had about them.

"_Yes. Supervisor Heidi Patterson. Levrrier's cousin or something."_

From the way Kanda sounded, Allen could tell he severely disliked this woman. Not that Allen could really blame him, judging by the way she was currently threatening the two boys with starvation if they didn't follow orders. Yu looked downright terrified of the woman, half hiding behind Alma as he was. For his part, Alma was at least looking her in the face.

"We'll get back to work, Supervisor…" He said, one arm behind him to comfort Yu. Looking over his shoulder, he grinned at the other boy, winking, before taking his hand and pulling him over to where two wooden swords lay on the ground.

Stunned, Allen watched the two boys spar. He doubted they were much older than when he had first seen them, and yet they were fighting almost expertly. "H-how long after you… woke up… was this?" Allen asked incredulously.

Kanda was silent for a moment, contemplating before answering, _"No more than a year. If that. We were both quick learners."_

"Yeah… I see that," was all Allen could say as he watched the boys. Only the Supervisor didn't look impressed. She stood with her arms crossed for about fifteen minutes before stepping forward and stopping them.

"You," she said to Alma, appraising him, "you're fast. I'll have to have someone train you in agility." Turning to Yu, now, she frowned. "You're sloppy as usual, Yu. If you're not going to try your hardest, you don't deserve dinner. Now get inside so Chan can have a look at you, both of you."

As the two boys ran inside, Allen followed. "Charming woman." He commented offhandedly, starting to understand why the other Exorcist hated his given name so much. Kanda didn't respond to his remark, but Allen hadn't really expected him to. The boys ran into a room on the lower level of the old Order where a much younger Bak Chan was waiting.

Before Allen could see what Bak had wanted with the two boys, the scene changed again. Yu was nowhere to be seen, but Alma was on a hospital bed in one of the private rooms of the infirmary. He had been bound down to the bed and he was breathing heavily, as though he was having trouble with it. The Supervisor, Bak, someone Allen could only assume was Bak's father, given the resemblance, and several doctors were all gathered around the boy.

"…what's wrong with him?" Allen asked. The only person who looked even remotely concerned for the boy was Bak.

"…_I have no idea. I don't remember this, I…"_ Yu had been present in the other memories, so Kanda had assumed these were his memories. But he couldn't possibly have remembered something he wasn't present for. That meant… _"These aren't my memories… these are Alma's memories…!"_

It came as a shock to him. There were things Kanda had wanted to know about his friend that he had been too shy to ask at the time. But to find out like this… this was an invasion of privacy of the only person he ever thought of as friend. It was bad enough he had to relive it, but Allen was here too. The bean sprout had no right to see such a personal moment; Kanda supposed he really didn't either, but without a body or a way to shut out the images, he had no choice.

"_Turn around or something. I don't want you seeing this. This is none of your business to begin with, but I thought… these were my memories. It's different if they're Alma's. I don't want you watching."_

The anger in Kanda's voice was evident, so Allen did as he was asked without question. He already felt like he was intruding, but now he felt even more like a trespasser. It was more than the anger in his companion's voice that made him do as he was told without complaint; there was something else in Kanda's voice, something… protective. Allen supposed that was what shocked him into moving; Kanda had never been protective of anyone for as long as Allen had known him.

Kanda watched in horror as Alma's struggling got worse. The boy was sweating bullets, breathing like he'd just run a marathon, and now he was thrashing on the bed. None of the people gathered around the bed moved to do anything to help, not even upon hearing the sharp pop of Alma's shoulder dislocating. Even with his injury, though, Alma didn't stop. He kept struggling and thrashing on the bed, his eyes fluttering open and closed.

"He needs the serum, just give it to him. We all know what's happening." Bak finally said, worry in his voice. Everyone else appraised him with a frown, as though he had interrupted their fun.

"Very well. Give it to him, Chan." The Supervisor said, moving so that he could reach a syringe sitting on the cart next to Alma's bed. Bak did so quickly, preparing the needle before studying the writhing boy for a moment.

"Hold him down. He needs to be still." Bak instructed. The doctors hesitated for a moment before pressing the boy down against the bed, holding him still while Bak pressed the needle into the base of his neck and pushed down on the plunger, injecting Alma with the dark liquid.

Almost immediately, the thrashing stopped. Alma's head lolled to the side, his breathing shallow. Bak set the syringe back down and reached around the boy, popping his shoulder back in place and cringing at the sound it made. "It's deteriorating. We've got to redo it…"

Bak's voice got steadily farther and farther away before the scene disappeared entirely. Allen didn't have to watch to get the gist of what had happened; even though he had turned away from the sight of Alma on the bed, he couldn't prevent himself from hearing what had happened. Still, nothing made sense. What was happening to him? What was the serum for? Allen desperately wanted to ask Kanda, but he know that was probably not a very good idea., given how protective he had gotten over his memories.

"If we're in Alma's memories… how do we get out? What's the point?" Allen couldn't bring himself to remain silent, and besides, they really should be focusing on how to get out of here. Their corporeal bodies were in danger if there were so many Noah around; the sooner they got out of here, the better.

"_You think I know the answer to that any more than you do?" _Kanda snapped in response. Didn't the bean sprout know that if he knew the way out, he'd be gone by now? Kanda didn't want to relive his own memories, let alone those that weren't his. But, the scene before him was rapidly changing, and until he thought of a way out, he had no choice but to go along for the ride.

Making a face, Allen turned around out of habit to face Kanda, sighing heavily when he remembered Kanda didn't have a body of his own. "Well, think. The Noah want Alma to wake up… is there anything we can do other than watch?" Allen was starting to worry about the others that Sherryl was holding captive. If only he and Kanda were around to protect them, Sherryl could be doing anything and Allen wouldn't be able to stop it. That didn't sit well with him; he could deal with whatever the Noah did, but if he wasn't there to protect his friends…

"_There is nothing that can wake Alma up. Alma's not coming back. I made sure of that."_ Kanda replied after several moments of silence, although his words sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of that more than anything. He refused to hope for the best when Alma had been dead to him for nine years. It was too much to hope for, that he would come back. It wasn't worth it to think about.

The next memory finally settled around them and Allen forced himself to turn back around, heeding Kanda's words. Allen could tell where they were without having to look around; they were in Hevlaska's room. A door creaked open and two sets of footsteps echoed off the walls of the high-ceilinged room.

"Again, Supervisor?" Hevlaska asked when she saw the woman with Alma at her side.

"As many times as it takes, Hevlaska. You know that. You have a new Innocence for the boy, I presume?" The Supervisor asked, sounding almost bored… as though she wasn't about to force innocence into the body of someone who was not an accomodator.

Hevlaska sighed softly, but produced the Innocence the Supervisor wanted. "How many times must he do this before you are convinced it cannot work?" The once-Exorcist asked before following her orders.

Heidi scowled. "Don't question me, Hevlaska! Do it!" She snapped, pushing Alma forward. Hevlaska wasn't surprised when she looked down at the boy and saw nothing but resignation in his eyes. He knew he could not avoid this.

"As you wish, Supervisor." Hevlaska's voice carried the same resignation that was in Alma's eyes. Gently, she pressed the Innocence into Alma's body. She was met with some resistance, naturally, but they both knew to expect that by now. A soft glow surrounded his body, pulsating more and more rapidly the brighter it grew; Hevlaska and Heidi both sighed. It was no good, another failed attempt. The Innocence would rip Alma apart once more, only for his body to rebuild itself later.

Allen could hear Alma thrashing on the floor, whimpers and gasps of pain escaping him regardless of how hard he tried to suppress them. He knew the Order had done this to orphans, but if what Hevlaska said is true, this wasn't Alma's first time. How could anyone be so cruel…

"…what…?" Instead of the explosion that followed the Innocence rejecting the user, the light suddenly started pulsating steadily slower, growing more and more dim until it was gone. Alma was laying on his back on the floor, breathing heavily still, but untouched. The Innocence had finally accepted him.

The memory was disrupted abruptly as the Supervisor started triumphantly gloating to Hevlaska. Allen felt sick all of a sudden when the impact of what he'd heard settled in. "I had no idea… they could do that more than once…" Allen said sympathetically. He wanted to believe it was a rumor, or that it wasn't as bad as it sounded simply because it was easier that way. But, thinking about it now… that seemed incredibly naïve of him.

"_That was the benefit of the second Exorcists. The Innocence could destroy us and we'd just regenerate." _The words left him before Kanda really had a chance to think about it. Normally he would just tell the brat not to talk about it or just ignore him all together. But this was a bizarre situation, one that dragged to the surface thoughts and emotions that had been pushed under for years. Given all that, it was hard to focus on keeping his tongue- or whatever it was that let him be heard in this place- in check.

Picking his head up in surprise, Allen blinked. He hadn't really expected an answer, but since he got one he figured another question couldn't hurt. "So they kept… forcing Innocence on you until it worked…?" How many times had Kanda's body been destroyed, only to be rebuilt again? Suddenly, so much more about Kanda made sense.

"_Yes. Although for Alma it took longer." _Dammit, there goes his mouth again, running in spite of his better judgment. But Allen was already here, he already knew more than anyone else did. Saying this didn't really make much of a difference anymore.

Before Allen could ask why, the memory changed again. This time, they were in one of the bedrooms at the Order. A weapon Allen didn't know the name of leaned against the wall; it was a long staff with a curved blade at the top, a few grooves curving out of the base of the blade itself. Allen focused on the weapon instead of what was going on in the memory, feeling Kanda watching him to make sure he was obeying his orders, despite the face that in this realm Kanda really didn't have eyes of his own.

Allen sat in silence for a long time; as far as he could tell, it was the middle of the night. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alma laying on the bed, so he assumed the boy was sleeping. What was the point of this memory? It wasn't until Allen heard Kanda murmuring that it occurred to him that this wasn't just a memory of Alma sleeping.

"_Get up, Alma… get up…"_ Kanda was murmuring, over and over, so faintly Allen could barely hear him. Almost as soon as Allen had caught on to what Kanda was saying, he heard the bed start to rattle, sounds of choking filling the room. _"Fuck!"_

Upon hearing Kanda yell, Allen whipped around to see Alma in the middle of a violent seizure, shaking the bed hard enough to push the headboard into the wall. His fists were clenched in the sheets and his whole body was thrashing; no wonder he had dislocated his shoulder the first time.

Helplessly, Allen watched as Alma's seizure continued for several minutes before stopping as abruptly as it started. Hiccupping, the boy sat up, wide awake now, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He barely had a moment to catch his breath before he leaned over the bed and threw up, coughing miserably once he had finished. Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Alma looked down and stared at the mess on the floor. Instead of the contents one would usually expect to find, smooth, dark liquid was in a puddle on the floor. Even in the dim light, Allen could tell something wasn't right; it was far too dark to be anything natural, but it wasn't thick enough to be blood. And besides that, it looked purplish, judging by the light coming in from the open window.

However, before Allen could ask just what the hell was on the floor, Alma gasped and scrambled to the opposite end of his bed, eyes wide and scared. His hand was clutching at his heart through his nightshirt; Allen could just barely make out the mark of a tattoo similar to Kanda's peaking over the top of his shirt.

"…what just happened to him?" Allen asked after several minutes of silence while Alma struggled to catch his breath.

"_Tch. He had a seizure, idiot. What do you think happened?"_ Kanda sniped, pointing out the obvious to avoid the details.

Growling a little, Allen turned his head on the direction of Kanda's voice. "Well, obviously! Don't give me a stupid answer like that; I saw what happened."

"_Don't ask a stupid question and you won't get a stupid answer. Besides, didn't I tell you NOT to look?"_ Kanda ended the conversation right there; he was not about to discuss something so personal with someone who didn't need to know. Alma had a seizure; that was all Allen needed to know. After giving the other Exorcist a few moments, just to make sure he was really going to shut up, Kanda allowed himself to think about what he just saw. Watching the scene unfold shocked him probably more than it shocked Allen; he had no idea Alma had been experiencing the Rejection so completely. He had his moments, years ago, but they had never been so violent, nor had he ever gone so far as to puke up the serum.

The memory changed slowly now surrounding the two Exorcists in complete blackness. They could hear the next memory coming before they saw it. It was far away at first; Allen could make out what sounded like several people all whispering frantically, and something that sounded suspiciously like bones breaking. As the sounds got louder and louder, Allen was able to make out more of what was going on. What he had initially thought were whispers were actually people yelling for help, pleading to be spared. Someone asked what had happened, where they had gone wrong. The experiment was perfect, one voice said, how could he have rejected it? Nothing made sense to Allen; all he knew was that several people were being killed, one by one.

Heavy footsteps came next, and that was all Allen could hear. Heavy footsteps, like someone running, and sharp, gasping breaths as if whoever running was out of air. Tense, Allen focused hard on everything he could hear; the running lasted for only a few seconds before slowing down. Finally, another voice spoke.

"Calm down, Alma… we've got another injection ready for you, and you'll fe-" The man's voice cut out, the sound of him choking drowning out the rest of his words. Choking turned to gurgling, and Allen could only imagine that meant he was now choking on blood. Seconds later, the heavy thump of a body hitting a stone floor was heard, making Allen wince.

Almost simultaneously after the body hit the ground, Allen could see. Alma was standing over the body of Bak's father, his Innocence and clothes covered in blood. But that wasn't the most unsettling part; it was Alma's eyes. They were dark, hardened in a way that Allen had only seen in the eyes of-

"SUPERVISOR!!" Allen's thoughts were disrupted when Alma screamed and suddenly ran out of the room. Cursing in his head, Allen took off after him, recognizing instantly where he was going as he followed the boy through the halls of the Order to the office that had come to be Komui's.

As they passed the main hallway, Allen happened to glance down it. When he did, he nearly stopped running out of shock. The floor and walls were covered in blood, the bodies of at least a dozen Finders and scientists scattered about like rag dolls. All this was the work of the nine year old he was now following? Alma had seemed so sweet in the previous memories he'd been shown; he must at least be more than a murderer for Kanda to have such strong feelings for him. Nevertheless, Alma was already out of sight. If he wanted any answers at all, Allen knew he'd have to catch up quickly.

Rounding the corner to the Supervisor's office, Allen was in time to watch Alma throwing himself against the door which had apparently been barricaded from the other side. The boy looked almost feral as he threw himself into the door, screaming for the supervisor, murder in his eyes. Allen was surprised at how strong someone so young and small was; the wood was already cracking around the hinges. A few more minutes of this and Alma would be through the door and into the office.

Over the sounds of Alma's body slamming into the door, Allen could hear Yu's soft voice from the other side of the door. He couldn't hear what was being said, but Yu sounded like he was pleading with someone. Stepping forward, Allen went to the door and pressed his ear against it, intent on hearing what was being said. Instead of pressing his ear against what he thought was a solid wooden door, he tumbled through it, nearly losing his balance as he fell through to the other side.

The Supervisor was standing a safe distance away from the door, her hand curled around Yu's forearm, holding him next to her. "That is enough, Yu. You will do as you're told." She snapped, shaking the small boy. Surrounding her were scientists and Finders, as well as Renee Epstein, Bak Chan and old man Zhu, each holding onto a talisman. Allen couldn't believe they needed all this just to contain Alma; where were the other Exorcists?

It only took Alma a few more tries before the wood cracked around the hinges and he was able to tear the door away from the wall. Vaguely, Allen wondered if inhuman strength went along with the powers one had as a second Exorcist, but knew better than to ask.

"Supervisor…" Alma hissed when he stepped into the room, his bloodthirsty gaze focused directly on the woman across from him. Before he could even move, the people surrounding the Supervisor activated their talismans, trapping Alma where he stood.

Smirking now that she was safe, Heidi stepped forward, shoving Yu in front of her. "You've been awfully disobedient, Alma. That's too bad; you were the first successful second. We had high hopes for you. But it looks like the experiment has failed." Crossing her arms, she leaned over and nudged Yu forward. "You heard what I said, Yu. Alma is no longer allowed the title of Exorcist; he is useless to us." Pausing, Heidi let her smirk grow wider.

"Kill him."


	2. Chapter 2

It was too cruel. Allen had seen precious few memories of Kanda and Alma together, but he didn't need to see much to know that they were as close as two people could be. He could plainly tell Alma cared quite a bit for Kanda and that the feelings were mutual, especially given how protective Kanda had become over his friend's memories. But this was too much… they had successfully detained Alma, they could work with him, save him somehow. He was simply a child who had been through too much and was mentally unstable. Granted, he had killed several people already, but if they had to kill the boy, wasn't there a way to do it that was more humane than this?

Allen was too focused on his own thoughts to notice that Kanda was also reacting to the scene before him. He had been silent for so long, Allen had almost forgotten he was present too. For something like this, though, it was no wonder Kanda had chosen to break his silence.

"_It wasn't his fault, you miserable bitch… you did this to him, you're the one who should have died that day…"_

Hearing him say that was almost shocking to Allen, who wasn't used to such an outburst from Kanda. Normally, when Kanda was angry he kept it to himself, or else intimidated whoever had annoyed him. Unless it was an Akuma, in which case he said nothing and simply killed it. Given the circumstances, however, Allen understood why Kanda didn't hold back, why he said what he did. Those were things he probably wanted to say for a long time, things he kept bottled up because the woman was gone and he would never get the chance to speak such things aloud.

Focusing again on the scene in front of him and not his inner thoughts, Allen watched Yuu hesitate, turning to the Supervisor uncertainly, Mugen still sheathed at his side. "But… Alma's Innocence is stronger than mine, you always said he was better than me…" Allen could tell Yuu was speaking not out of self-preservation, but as a way to prevent the battle. In the mind of a child, that would probably mean Alma would be allowed to live if Yuu couldn't fight him.

Sneering, the Supervisor shoved the boy forward. "This is your final test, then. You will either pass and be allowed to hold the title of an Exorcist, or you'll prove to be just as useless as Alma." Yuu visibly recoiled; the Supervisor didn't need to say what that meant.

Turning his attention back to the other boy, Allen wasn't surprised to see that Alma hadn't waited patiently for the two to finish their conversation. He'd already broken through several of the barriers with his weapon, causing several of the science department members holding the talismans to look stricken.

Yuu, meanwhile, just looked confused; he had been told to kill his best friend who was protected by the remaining barriers. Without anything to do but wait for Alma to free himself, the small Japanese boy could only sit back and stare. Allen could see what little resolve he had mustered up wasn't going to last long and he wished he could do something to help, that he was tangible so that the horrible fate staring him in the face didn't have to come true.

He could only imagine how Kanda felt, watching this all over again without the welcomed fog of his own memories.

Alma was down to the final few barriers; several scientists looked worried, glancing at each other and at the nine year old boy who was supposed to save them. Bak and Zhu were the only ones who had dropped their talismans when Alma had penetrated their barriers, both of them looking grim. Allen was surprised that they didn't look as shocked or terrified as some of the others, and for a moment wished he knew what was going on in their heads. They looked almost… expectant.

Before Allen could think too deeply on the subject, Alma broke through the last of the barriers.

"Gervais, rotation!" He shouted, whipping his weapon forward. It began spinning rapidly, fast enough to cut through one of the scientists and halfway through a second. The first one puked blood as he fell, falling face first onto the ground, his torso landing several feet away from his lower body. The second scientist staggered momentarily before falling backwards, but not before sending a shower of blood onto Bak and Zhu, who were standing behind him. Alma's piercing gaze fell onto the two Chinese scientists before he held his hand out, recalling his weapon back to him and turning away from them.

The rest of the room stared in shock at what had happened so quickly, before any of them even had time to get their bearings and prepare themselves when Alma was free. And it seemed Alma wasn't about to give them that time. As soon as he had his weapon back in his hand, he lunged forward, shoving past Yuu and heading for Heidi. Allen was shocked to see just how fast Alma was; he had heard the Supervisor and Yuu mention it before, but to see how quickly he closed the distance between the two of them was still a surprise.

But Allen remembered Kanda's angry rant and knew that the Supervisor was not going to die. Before Alma could run the woman through, the man Allen assumed was Renee Epstein's father stepped in front of her. No one would have been able to stop the boy's charge, but Epstein was able to at least defend the woman from the attack. The blade tore through his stomach and lodged there.

"Jakob!" The Supervisor was the only one to speak as the man sank to his knees, blood bubbling over his lips. Her sharp eyes were wide with shock and anger, her gaze quickly turning on Yuu as Alma wrenched his weapon from the dead man's stomach.

"You! You little brat, look at what you have done!" Flicking on a barrier of her own, Heidi trapped Alma in place again, storming over to the Japanese boy cowering away from her. "I told you to kill him, but look what has happened because of your disobedience! These are all deaths you could have prevented! Are you too stupid to know how to fight? He is your enemy!"

From the look in Yuu's eyes, Allen got the impression he was used to being insulted. It made him seriously rethink taunting Kanda when he got the chance, although the more he thought about it, the more he knew Kanda would hate him even more if he suddenly started treating him nicer because of what he had seen.

"But… Supervisor… Alma and me… we're the only ones… he's my best friend, I can't-" Yuu's hands fidgeted over the handle of Mugen and he was unable to meet her eyes.

Reaching down, the Supervisor plucked the boy off his feet by the front of his shirt. "You killed Hana, didn't you? You told me the same thing then, that Hana was your friend, but you killed her anyway because that was your training, an order I gave you to show you that your friends can become your enemies at any moment and you cannot hesitate. This is the final time I will tell you," dropping Yuu now, she turned, pointing at Alma who had nearly broken through the newest barrier, "kill him!"

Allen didn't have to know everything to see that what the Supervisor had just said broke something in Yuu; his eyes went blank and he sagged a little, as if the memory of Hana deflated him. It couldn't be that Kanda had killed two of his friends in the past, could it? But that was what the Supervisor said… how could a child so young be faced with so much death and cruelty? Allen was left wishing Komui had gotten here sooner.

A growl tore Allen from his thoughts, and he was again reminded that Kanda was conscious here too, watching the same thing he was. Kanda did not speak, nor did he make any other sound, but Allen had heard that sound enough to know what he wanted to say and, more importantly, what he wanted to do.

Moving slowly, Yuu stood in front of the Supervisor, hesitating just a moment before unsheathing Mugen. The blade looked almost comical, held in the hands of one so young and small, but Allen knew it was just as deadly then as it was in the time he knew. "Mugen, h-hatsudo." Yuu murmured the words, drawing his fingers lightly along the side of the blade. His voice only trembled once, but other than that he looked determined now, most of his earlier hesitancy gone.

Allen half expected Alma to just push Yuu aside again, or cut through him to get to the Supervisor. However, Alma simply stared at his friend for a moment before pointing the blade of his weapon at him. "Get out of my way, Yuu." His voice wasn't demanding or bloodthirsty as it had been before; Alma sounded almost… worried.

Apparently, Yuu was also expecting the same murderous tone he had heard earlier, because he looked hesitant again. It was easier to pretend Alma was no longer his friend if he sounded angry, different than Yuu was used to. For his part though, he didn't back down, keeping Mugen raised defensively. "I can't. You're not the same. …You killed people, Alma." Yuu spoke as though he was trying to make Alma understand why this was necessary, why he had to do this even though he obviously didn't want to. Even now, Yuu didn't want Alma to hate him.

A sound of disbelief was all Yuu got in return at first as Alma pointed the edge of his Innocence at the Supervisor. "What about all the people she killed!? She killed kids! She made you kill Hana! And these scientists, they're all the same as her." Alma looked around the room to the ones who remained, but his accusatory glare stopped before gazing at the two Chinese men he had spared. Apparently, they were exempt from his statement. "She deserves to die, and you know it."

The words sounded strange coming from a nine year old, although Allen knew that even at almost twice their age he hadn't experienced half as much as those two boys had. Yuu looked like he was about to agree with his friend before simply clamping his lips shut and shaking his head, choosing silence instead of saying the wrong thing. Tightening his grip on Mugen, he remained in the same defensive position.

This was not the reaction Alma wanted. His expression twisted into one of rage and he thrust his weapon arm forward, angrily gesturing at the Supervisor again. "Fine. If you're not on my side, you're on hers." He attacked again as soon as he finished speaking, but he didn't lunge forward as Allen had expected. Instead, he twisted and ran to the side, into the crowd of unsuspecting scientists who didn't have the good sense to flee after two of their comrades had fallen.

Yuu hadn't expected that either, and he could only stare in shock as Alma left a trail of blood and gore behind him. The scientists should have been better prepared to deal with a murderous Exorcist, even if their weapons were mostly created to contain dark matter. The ones who had brought guns were too slow in firing, and only a few had a chance to even draw their weapon, let alone fire it, before Alma's blade silenced them.

Those who hadn't been cut down turned and fled instead of waiting for death; they hadn't brought any other means of protection, and by the time Yuu had finally reacted, another four of their number had been killed.

As Alma brought his blade down to impale a dazed scientist who had slipped in the blood of his neighbor, Yuu finally shook his surprise and sprang into action, his own blade defending the helpless man on the floor. "Stop, Alma. They're just scientists; I'm the one you're after, remember?"

"They are the scientists who did this to us!" Alma hissed, pulling the sleeve of his shirt to the side and revealing a tattoo similar to Kanda's. Yuu hesitated again, glancing down at his own chest before shaking his head and thrusting Mugen forward, knocking Alma's Innocence to the side.

"It doesn't matter. This is wrong, Alma. We're Exorcists now, this isn't what we're supposed to be doing." Yuu pleaded, trying to reach out to his friend.

Swinging his weapon around blindly, Alma growled. "Well I never wanted to be an Exorcist in the first place!" He hissed before lunging forward, his blade cutting into Yuu's arm.

And thus the battle began.

As soon as it was clear to the boy that his best friend was now his enemy, Yuu fought back with more strength and skill than Allen had expected, given how timid and awkward he looked holding Mugen. They fought unobstructed; those who fled had simply moved to the other side of the room. To escape, they would have had to move past Alma and that was a risk none of them were willing to take. Instead, they gathered on the other side of the room with the Supervisor, watching the battle from behind a barrier they had been able to quickly salvage from before.

Now, given the chance to escape or two watch the two boys fight, it was clear which of the two they preferred. Allen could see several of the scientists talking amongst themselves, and out of sheer curiosity Allen decided to move closer and listen.

"… seizures were a sign, we should have known Alma didn't have the mental capacity to deal with being an Exorcist on top of the experiments." He overheard one of the scientists say.

"His synchronization rate has been fluctuating a lot recently; for someone with such a weak constitution as his, it's no wonder he's been Corrupted."

Allen was caught between watching Alma and Yuu fight and listening to the scientists talk; he had no idea what they were talking about. A corrupt Exorcist Fell, didn't they? He doubted he would ever get answers outside this realm, and he had so many questions. "Corrupted…?" Allen wondered aloud after a few moments when he couldn't figure out what they meant.

A grunt turned his attention back to Alma and Yuu fighting. Alma was clearly the better fighter; he moved faster and with more fluidity that suggested a lot of experience. Yuu was proficient with Mugen, but he was clearly not as used to the weapon as his opponent.

"_Turn around, Moyashi! I told you to stop watching!"_ Kanda snapped once Allen turned around. His voice was trembling with emotion that Allen couldn't place. Rage was there, obviously, but there was something too, something that sounded alien in Kanda's voice. Sorrow.

Guiltily, Allen turned away, face to face with the conspiring scientists now. He didn't expect Kanda to say anything else, so when he spoke again a few moments later, Allen was caught off guard.

"_Innocence, whether equipment or parasite type, relies on the strength of its Accommodator. If an Accommodator becomes too weak due to illness or injury to continue controlling their Innocence, the Innocence will begin to control them and they slowly lose their mind."_ Allen could tell by the forcibly flat tone in Kanda's voice that he was only speaking to distract himself, but he was glad for the explanation. _"That Exorcist then becomes Corrupt, but they don't Fall because they haven't betrayed the Innocence."_

Suddenly, everything made sense. Alma had some sort of disorder, that was why he kept having those seizures. Because of that, he was too weak to control his Innocence and it started controlling him, which caused the boy to lose it and start killing his allies. No wonder they had tried to contain it earlier…

"But then, isn't it just a matter of getting his Innocence away from him? If he's Corrupt and there's no way for the Innocence to control him, wouldn't that bring him back to normal?"

Kanda snorted; the boy was so naïve. He wanted to be able to save everybody, but he didn't understand. Alma didn't have just any affliction, and he understood more now than he ever did before. Back then, Kanda had simply thought Alma had had enough of the abuse, the experiments, the constant testing and watchful eye of the Supervisor who acted more like their jailer than their boss and snapped. That was all his young mind comprehended then, but now… now it made so much more sense.

Allen waited for Kanda's response, holding his breath. But, when no response came, he let out a sigh. He shouldn't have expected a response beyond that. He had directly spoken about Alma, when the only reason Kanda explained Corruption was to distract himself. No wonder he was getting the silent treatment again.

The scientists were quiet, watching the scene before them unfold. Allen diligently stared at the floor, resisting the temptation to turn and watch as the others were doing. He tried to let his mind wander, to make himself think of something else. It was in this state that Allen noticed a soft buzzing sound in his ears. It wasn't loud or unpleasant, but it was there, and now that Allen had noticed it, the sound was always there. No one else seemed to notice it, and he was fairly certain it hadn't been there before; he wondered what it meant, but once again became distracted when the scientists started whispering again.

Watching the battle through the eyes of his young self, Kanda focused on his technique instead of anything else. He watched himself move both his body and his blade, flinching whenever something went wrong. 'There's no need to swing your arm around so much; just do what's necessary, anything else is a waste of energy and just slows you down.' And indeed, Yuu overextended again, making him wide open to an attack from Alma. The other boy took his opening, slicing into Yuu's side mercilessly.

It wasn't the first injury his young self had taken, but it was the worst. Nearly half of the blade of Alma's Innocence had cleaved into his side. Choking, Yuu stepped back, eyes wide with pain and fear. This certainly wasn't enough to kill him, but it brought him to his knees.

"The Supervisor was right, Yuu. You are no match for me." Alma didn't sound haughty as he spoke; he was merely stating fact. Ripping the blade from Yuu's side, he leaned on it, watching the other boy on the floor at his feet as he pressed his hands against his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

If it hadn't been clear to Yuu up until that point that both he and Alma were fighting for their lives, it became clear to him then. Staring at the tiles on the floor, he forced himself into a state of meditative calm. It was something Bak had taught him and Alma; they regenerated faster while calm.

"I don't want to kill you." Alma's words may have been reassuring, but his tone was anything but. Yuu wasn't paying attention; he was still staring at the tiles, gauging how well he'd be able to move with the wound, how far away Mugen was, how long it would take him to reach it like this.

"You're the only other successful Second. We could leave together, Yuu. They wouldn't be able to stop the both of us." His words fell on deaf ears as Yuu played through his strategy in his head; there was no way he would get to Mugen and cut Alma down unharmed from this position, but that was what the other boy would expect him to try. Glancing up through his eyelashes, Yuu knew he would be able to get Mugen and deal a huge blow to the other boy if he was willing to take a hit himself. But what angle would Alma strike from? Leaning on his Innocence like he was, he could either bring the pointed end up and strike with that, which would probably hit him in the stomach, or Alma would swing the blade downward, which would hit his shoulder.

As Yuu thought over his plan, Alma just watched him, simply thinking the other boy was too weak and injured to do anything else. "Well, Yuu?" He asked after several moments of silence. "What do you say? Will you join me…" shifting now, Alma brought his blade to rest in the air above Yuu's right shoulder where it met his neck. "…or will I have to kill you too?" This was too perfect; now that Yuu didn't have to guess where Alma's attack would come from, he could easily dodge. Quick meditation in difficult situations was the one thing Yuu could do better than his friend, who had given up and gone to work on mastering his weapon after a few short minutes more often than not. This meant that Yuu could heal faster than Alma could; Alma would not be expecting such a fierce attack so soon, and certainly not one that would invite injury.

Dropping his shoulder and using that action as momentum, Yuu twisted to the side and grabbed Mugen. At the first sign of his movement, Alma brought his blade down, but Yuu had moved quick enough so that only the side of his arm took any damage at all. As soon as his fingers found the hilt of his blade, Yuu twisted his body again, using momentum instead of unnecessary force to drive Mugen into Alma's stomach.

That point was where the battle changed; Yuu had been right in assuming that Alma did not expect such an attack, considering the Japanese boy's injury. Skilled in fighting though he may be, Alma was still a child and children rarely expect the unexpected. Caught off guard, his own attack rendered practically useless in comparison to that of his opponent, Alma staggered backward, his hand leaving his Innocence to clutch at the katana now firmly in place in his stomach.

Even with a deep gash in his shoulder and side, and despite countless other injuries, Yuu kept a firm hand on Mugen's hilt, standing completely and following Alma as he stepped backward. Alma's Innocence clattered to the floor, forgotten. Yuu didn't spare him any mercy, as the other boy had been just as fierce. But now, Yuu had truly become an Exorcist.

Thanks to his meditation, his training to focus on the target and nothing more, the hours of beatings and practical torture and harsh lessons forced onto him by the Supervisor, Yuu no longer recognized the person who was all but impaled on his blade as his friend. He may have been a timid child, but years of living in fear and through dozens of experiments only to find this as his final test took its toll on the young boy. Perhaps it could be said that, at that moment, all the stress and crippling terror from his training came to a head and sent him into a state of temporary madness.

Whatever the case, Yuu did not back down from Alma even after the other boy fell to his knees. His hold on Mugen was just as firm, and his eyes were blank when he spoke. "Kaichuu: Ichigen." It was a technique he had barely become acquainted with, but he didn't need to master it to know what summoning the insects from his blade with the blade still in Alma's body would do.

The insects Yuu summoned exploded from Alma's stomach, tearing a ragged hole in the boy's torso and spraying the Japanese boy with a shower of blood. The insects that had been summoned outside Alma's body attacked his face and upper body, one of them scoring a long cut from Alma's forehead all the way back, several more ripping through his face, neck, shoulders and chest, knocking the other boy flat on his back.

As the insects dissipated, Yuu wrenched Mugen out of Alma's body, watching his friend bleed out. Alma was motionless; all those injuries would have killed a normal person, but he was still alive. His breathing was shallow but there, his body slowly knitting itself back together.

But it wasn't over yet.

_Never show any mercy._

Even though Alma was not moving, Yuu slashed Mugen across his chest above his heart.

_Remember, if the situation was reversed, your enemy would not go easy on you._

As soon as blood blossomed on Alma's chest, Yuu slashed at him again, diagonally, from his shoulder to his hip, deeper this time.

_You must do everything possible to defeat your opponent, no matter what that means._

From his hip, Yuu dragged his blade down Alma's thigh to his knee, a wild look growing in his dark eyes.

_You must ensure the enemy will not get back up._

Sinking to his knees, Yuu began slashing, stabbing, ripping his blade through Alma's body without any pattern. The other boy's body couldn't even begin to regenerate before another wound was added to the growing number of injuries he had sustained. Now it was Yuu who looked feral and bloodthirsty as he tore his Innocence through the body of his dearest friend over and over again. Even after Alma had stopped breathing, he continued. Even after Alma was no longer recognizable as a human being, Yuu continued, although now he was sobbing too hard to see what he was doing.

_No matter what it takes, you must make sure the enemy is beyond all hope of regeneration. You must make sure they are completely dead._

Mesmerized and shocked at Yuu's sudden and brutal defeat of the first successful experiment in their artificial disciple project, the scientists slowly dropped the barrier and stood, approaching the Japanese boy who was still tearing into what appeared to be a mess of blood and flesh and nothing more.

Yuu was sobbing, his tears mixing with Alma's blood on his face. Blinded by tears, he stabbed his own leg with Mugen; too full of pain and rage, he didn't realize it was his own body he had injured until he tore the katana out of his thigh and howled with pain.

That had been the wake up call he needed. Yuu dropped Mugen and slumped over, chin resting on his chest as he cried, realization of what he had done drowning out everything else. Allen had been watching since Yuu invoked Ichigen, unable to tear his eyes away. He didn't know everything that had happened to the boy, so the violent outburst was sudden and impossible.

"_Stop staring at me, moyashi."_ Kanda growled when he noticed Allen was watching him; his voice was strained and heavy, but just as dangerous as always. _"You just can't listen, can you? You had to watch."_ Kanda sounded too tired, too strained to sound as biting as he normally did, even if his words still had an edge to them.

His words took several moments to register in Allen's brain, and when they did he was able to shake off the shock. "I-I'm sorry… I was just… shocked."

"_Tch."_ Kanda wasn't even able to make his signature verbal tic sound as angry as it normally did. _"So you saw. That means you don't get to ask questions."_

Nodding a little, Allen stood up, joining the group of scientists gathered around their two Seconds. The Supervisor had pulled Yuu away from Alma, but the boy was still curled up and sobbing. "So when you said Alma was dead…" It wasn't a question; Allen was simply thinking aloud, putting the pieces back together. So, he was surprised when Kanda answered.

"_Now you see why. Now you see that Alma can't wake up."_ Almost as if on cue, one of the scientists who had been studying Alma stood, sighing.

"He's stopped regenerating. Yuu's exhausted his regenerative powers."

Allen was silent, letting that sink in. Yuu had caused so much injury to Alma that it used up his regeneration. From what Allen had seen of Kanda's extensive injuries, that took a lot. He could barely even look at what was left of Alma's body now; Allen could see why his present body was so scarred and deformed.

"Why is it you think I can't come back, Yuu…?"

Looking around, Allen tried to find the source of that voice. It was soft, melancholy almost, and it seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. He hadn't heard anyone with a voice like that, neither had he seen any of the scientists speak. So who…?

"…_Alma…!?"_

It occurred to Allen that they were here to wake Alma up, if he remembered Wisely's words correctly. That must have been what the sudden buzzing in his ears was earlier. The memory they were in dissolved, and they were surrounded by light, similar to when Wisely had deposited them in Alma's memories.

"It's been awhile, Yuu…"


	3. Chapter 3

A white light blinded him for several moments while Kanda gauged his surroundings. He could hear people talking, but the sound was far away. As far as he could tell he had no recent injuries - which was good, because his head was still aching from where that damned Noah had _crushed it _- so there was nothing much to do but wait to regain his senses. Which he _hated_, more than having his head crushed. He'd rather do something and get hurt than sit still and idle while he knew he was surrounded.

But Kanda wasn't stupid; as much as he hated it, all he could do was hear. He couldn't see anything, nor could he really move or feel so he wasn't entirely sure if he was still holding Mugen or not. Trying to move would probably only result in a few twitches that would make him look like an idiot, something he hated just about as much as doing nothing. So, he was stuck between a metaphorical rock and a hard place which only served to piss him off more.

The damn _moyashi_ better hope he wasn't close, because Kanda was prepared to chop the first thing he saw in two.

Coherent sound returned to the Japanese exorcist almost a full minute later, and the first thing he was able to actually comprehend was a chorus of people breathing out Alma's name in awe. That certainly perked him up; did that mean Alma had truly awakened? He knew that was Alma's voice he heard before the light engulfed them once more, but he just couldn't believe that the other boy could actually regain consciousness, after all he had done. Cursing the blindness that had just now started fading, Kanda strained his ears to hear more, to try and hear the sound of Alma's voice again. It was a miracle - not that Kanda believed in such things - that Alma was even in a coma, let alone conscious.

Someone began coughing; he couldn't tell who but that wasn't important. That moment, his senses returned to him almost all at once and the sensation was overwhelming. Groaning, Kanda blinked and shook his head slightly, immediately searching for the damn Noah that had put them all in this situation. However, before he could speak-

"Yuu!"

His voice was harsh from lack of use, but Kanda couldn't mistake Alma's voice. Turning his head, Kanda felt his eyes widening once again when he saw Alma. It wasn't just that he was alive; Alma was different now, and it was his fault. They were all the other had back then, and because he'd been weak, and scared, and…

"You're alive!"

Even after all that, Alma was still the same. The same smile, the same enthusiasm… just from seeing him. But a lot had changed between both of them, and Kanda had trained himself now, so he couldn't stop himself from replying like he always did. "Of course I'm alive, idiot."

"I hate to interrupt this touching reunion," Wisely interjected, smirking like the smug bastard he was, "but I believe we have something much more important to discuss, especially with you, boy." Turning to face Allen, Wisely left his back exposed to Kanda; who, even while disoriented and still in shock from seeing Alma alive again, was not about to give up a lifetime of training and let this opportunity go by. Silently, he leapt forward, intent on running the damn Noah through. But it was never that easy…

Whether he'd forgotten the Noah's ability to read minds or he simply never caught on the first time (when the bastard had promptly _crushed his fucking head_) didn't matter; Kanda found himself face down on the floor before he could even blink. Although he was still conscious this time, he could feel his ears bleeding. The room was spinning and he thought he heard Alma call out to him, worried. Something in him longed to say he would be alright, but he didn't have the strength to even mouth the words.

Simply staring down at the Exorcist at his feet, Wisely turned and smiled like he hadn't just felled one of the Order's most powerful fighters without even touching him. "As I was saying… we have something to discuss, Allen."

Allen was painfully aware that he was surrounded; everything was too bright and too loud, and he could feel the Noah and the Earl all staring at him. Even with all that, however, Allen managed to glare, clenching his fists. "I'm not discussing anything with you," he snarled much more weakly than he'd intended, shifting into an offensive stance.

Chuckling, Wisely held his hands up, placating. "Now, now, Allen. There's a reason you were invited to view Alma's memories… you saw what your beloved Order did to those boys. Doesn't that make you angry…?" Wisely knew his words sunk in as soon as he said them and Allen hesitated, his eyes shifting to glance at Levrrier.

Allen had never liked the harsh way Levrrier handled things, nor did he like the rumors of the experiments Lenalee had spoken of. But the Order was essentially good… just because there were some bad people didn't mean the Order itself was bad, right? But there were so many experiments, and he had just seen the results of those experiments close up. It was harder to overlook them that way.

But it wasn't truly Allen Wisely was trying to reach. The Noah smirked when the boy's eyes lingered on the Inspector still standing against the wall. "You know the truth now. Did you know that hundreds of children just like Alma and Yuu existed? Some died quickly and escaped the pain, some… did not. None survived other than the two in this room." Wisely paused to let that knowledge soak in, only because if Allen got angry it would be harder for him to control his Noah.

Hearing all this, Alma frowned. He had no idea where he was, who any of these people were, or how long he'd been asleep… although, judging by how old Yuu looked now, he imagined it had been for some time. He'd grown his hair out again; Alma had always thought he looked better with long hair. Alma was trying to speak again, but he couldn't manage much more than a few words at a time. "Yuu… happened…? Get up…" It took him some time to even get those words out, watching his friend with concern in his eyes. No one had even touched him, but then he fell and his ears were bleeding… was there a problem with his curse? It wouldn't reject him after this long, would it?

The black-haired girl at his side smiled at him pleasantly. "Don't look so worried, Alma. He'll be okay. Wisely didn't hurt him too badly."

Slowly, Alma turned his gaze on the young girl at his side; she couldn't have been more than thirteen years old. "Who…?"

Smiling, she moved closer to him. "My name is Road. The person down there, with the headband? That's Wisely. He's talking to Allen. Hmm, there are probably very few people in this room you recognize, huh? You've been asleep for nine years. Well, let's see. My papa is the one down there, with his hair in a bun. His name is Sherryl. The other one with long hair is my uncle, Tyki. You know Bak Chan-"

"…Bak!?" Alma gasped once Road pointed him out; of course he knew Bak. He'd been one of the only scientists who was ever nice to him. Renee was nice, too, although he saw her less. He vaguely recognized her in the group of people bizarrely lined up against the wall.

Road simply smiled, quiet for now while the person she called Wisely started speaking again. The white haired boy (Allen?) looked angry now, his smoldering eyes directed at someone else he vaguely recognized… one of the higher ups from the Order, possibly, or a Scientist from another branch. His voice was deeper as he spoke this time, and he sounded more sure of himself.

"The Order murdered children… and for what? Only two experiments survived and that's worth all the death!?" Alma frowned; he didn't particularly like being referred to as an experiment. He did have a name, after all.

Wisely looked satisfied with himself. Allen had been yelling at him earlier, but now his anger was directed toward someone else entirely. Who were these grey-skinned people, anyway?

"Watch it, boy. There are Noah here, you have more important things to be doing than asking me stupid questions." The man responded, a sneer on his face. Why were they all standing against the wall, anyway? And what were Noah? Alma was getting frustrated; there was so much going on that he didn't understand.

"You look confused." Road said, smiling. "Let me put it like this; me, Wisely, my papa and my Uncle are all Noah. The sworn enemies of the Black Order and the Exorcists." Alma's eyes widened; he was an Exorcist, or at least he had been nine years ago. And now he was immobile, and Yuu was unconscious surrounded by the enemy. He could care less about what happened to most of the rest of the people in this room (he still didn't want anything to happen to Bak, Zhu or Renee), but he couldn't move, let alone try to fend them off.

Seeing the concern in his eyes, Road laughed softly. "Oh, don't worry, Alma. We like you. You and your friend Kanda. You're different than the other Exorcists. Especially since you can make the third Exorcists my family has come to be so jealous of…"

Road wasn't making sense anymore; third Exorcists? He and Yuu were called second Exorcists, so what were these thirds that she was talking about and what did they have to do with him?

"You know what you saw, boy." Wisely spoke again, this time to the 14th. "You know what happened to Alma."

Allen felt a tremor go through his body that made his head spin. He could feel the 14th responding to Wisely's words and it made him sick. He thought that since the 14th betrayed the Earl, maybe he wasn't evil. But Alma was an exorcist, and the urge to kill both him and Kanda rose through him like bile and he knew this Noah, _his_ Noah, was just as bad as the others.

Clutching at his head, Allen grimaced, his fingers pulling at his hair as he clenched his fists. "No… no…"

The scientists lined up against the wall looked worried; Kanda was unconscious and Allen was the only other Exorcist. If they lost him, they were all dead. "Allen! You were trying to prove that you had control of that Noah, that you are still a capable Exorcist! If you slip now, so help me, that will be as good as treason!" Levrrier spat, his face a mix of rage and fear.

Treason of this caliber would mean death for him; Allen knew that. But Kanda was laying immobile at his feet, and Allen could smell his blood like a shark. He wanted more, to kill the Exorcist laying at his feet, then to move on to the other one suspended by the pipes in the middle of the room.

"I am… Allen Walker… I am not the 14th… I will not let you control me!" Allen roared, falling to his knees as he struggled with himself.

The Noah seemed genuinely interested in what was happening with Allen; their attention was on him completely, the room silent except for Allen's furious mantra.

"Control it, Walker!" Levrrier snarled, straining to pull away from the wall. He couldn't allow this boy to lose control…

"Levrrier! Your meddling is not appreciated." Sherryl interrupted with a smirk, cutting off Levrrier's ability to speak with a flick of his wrist.

Kneeling down, Wisely gripped Allen's chin in his hand, lifting his head up. "Like we said, boy. You'll be leaving this place of your own accord. You see the two abominations the Order created. How can you stand to be around such things?" Every word Wisely said dug deeper and deeper into Allen's hold on the 14th, widening the cracks in his control until he screamed and gripped his hair harder.

"You are remarkably good at controlling yourself, I'll give you that," Wisely continued after several minutes went by and nothing had happened. "But you're slipping… even now, they doubt you more and more. Certainly they had nothing to fear from you, but they still watch you, still control you… because they fear you. Is that fair? You haven't done anything wrong, haven't betrayed them… you even have your Innocence still… doesn't that make you furious, this lack of trust in one so loyal?"

For being a new Noah, Wisely certainly knew how to manipulate the Exorcists as if he'd been doing it his entire life. Allen held his breath, considering all that. The 14th was siding with Wisely, pushing away his attempts to control himself. But he had to control himself. If Levrrier saw him slip or if he gave him any reason at all… suspicion would quickly turn into something much more powerful.

Levrrier… Alma knew that name. Levrrier was one of the higher ups who would check on him and Yuu from time to time. He was also the Supervisor's cousin. Alma had never liked the man, and he certainly didn't like him now. Everything Wisely said to him, if it was true… he knew what that was like. Because he and Yuu were the first successful Second Exorcists, they were watched constantly for fear that they would fall or that they would be overtaken by the curse and go crazy…

Alma was able to deal with it, mostly because the people who watched them tended to be Renee or her mother Lenny or Bak. They worked out of Central then, since Central was the only branch equipped for their experiments. But Yuu hated it, kept sheltered and never left alone. Alma didn't know Allen, so he couldn't say he knew exactly what the other boy was going through, but he understood enough to feel empathetic toward him. Being supervised and constantly doubted without provocation, just because something /might/ go wrong… not that being constantly monitored really helps, considering what Alma had done.

But this boy, as Alma watched him struggle in silence, reminded him of Yuu instead of himself. He was stubbornly clinging to what was good and right in his eyes, refusing to give in. Perhaps he was trying to prove to Levrrier that he could handle whatever inner demon was threatening to overtake him. Or maybe he was trying to prove it to himself, the way Yuu was always trying to prove to himself that he was better than the Supervisor made him out to be.

Alma felt a sudden pang of regret for what he had done, not that he'd been able to truly control it. But he didn't regret the people he killed as much as he regretted what the consequences of his actions led to. He had been asleep for nine years while Yuu had to grow up alone in the cold, uncaring Order.

As Allen continued to struggle with himself, Alma noticed Yuu stirring at his feet and felt relief wash through him. It didn't matter that he knew how quickly Yuu could regenerate; seeing his friend like that worried him. Alma was almost surprised at how calm he was, given the blind fury that had driven him to this state. But nine years was a long time to sleep, so perhaps he had overcome whatever it was that had driven him to madness.

"Yuu…"

Kanda must have heard him speak, because a few seconds later, their eyes met. Alma felt something go through him when he looked into Yuu's eyes… he couldn't describe it, but he wished he could at least move so he had someone to help him stand.

Recovering once again from his head injury, Kanda managed to sit up and rest his palm on his forehead. He did not like this new Noah, who could manage such a feat without even touching him. He heard Alma's voice again and his head turned to look up at him immediately. Road was next to him, grinning down at the Exorcists. Kanda didn't like how close she was, or the look she had on her face. Wobbling slightly, Kanda stood with some effort, glancing wearily at Wisely.

"What do you want with us, Noah?" He hissed, cursing himself for how weak his voice sounded. If they wanted to destroy the Order, they wouldn't have much of a problem with it. Wisely could disable him with a look, Sherryl could control the others and make them kill themselves, and the level fours scattered around the room could easily destroy the rest of the Order. So what were they waiting for?

Wisely grinned at him like a fool and once again, Kanda wondered if his name could suit him any worse than it already did. "It will become clear soon. We're just waiting for the boy to cooperate, that's all."

But Kanda was getting sick and tired of going around in circles; he wanted this waiting game to end, but without anyway to fight Wisely's mental attacks, there was nothing else he could do. It was infuriating. "I want an answer now, dammit! If you came here to do something, then do it!"

Wisely smirked and shrugged. "We're working on it. There's only so much we can do while we wait for the boy to listen to us… although now that you're awake, it looks like things will be moving along just fine." Smirking, Wisely nodded at Allen and Kanda turned his head, staring at the white haired boy who was bleeding as he dug his fingers into his arms as he fought for control.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, _moyashi_?" Kanda hissed as he watched the boy start shaking, his control slipping.

"You're… one of them…" It wasn't Allen's voice that spoke, though; it was the 14th.

"Get a hold of yourself! You're slipping; if you slip any farther, we'll have to restrain you!" It was Link who spoke this time, although he sounded concerned more than angry like Levrrier had.

Alma couldn't be quite sure of what was happening; something was changing Allen, and although he couldn't know what it was, he thought he knew what he was feeling. He remembered losing control of himself when the Innocence became impossible to handle, everything inside him conflicting until he lost his mind and killed all those people.

Was that going to happen now, with this boy? He could tell Allen was struggling with whatever it was he was supposed to be suppressing. And there was Levrrier, threatening him with treason if he couldn't control it, as though it was his fault. Alma felt sick with hatred at these people who forced perfection out of their followers who had never really wanted to be followers in the first place. It was their fault he had gone mad and murdered the Finders… if they had just tried to help instead of control, instead of pushing him farther and farther away…

But Alma was different than Allen. He may not know what was happening, but he could tell that the Order hadn't changed. Looking at Yuu, he could see that. His eyes were harder now, as he glared at the Noah; even through all the experiments when they were children, his eyes had been kind. Yuu was so gentle… he never wanted to hurt anything, he hated his Innocence and what the Order wanted him to do. But now, Alma could see the killer his friend had become and he hated it. It was the Order who forced them to fight, and now his best friend, his kind, shy, gentle Yuu was their pawn.

After all that Yuu had been through, Alma hoped that he could escape the Order and this war and for once in his life know peace.


End file.
